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<\/p>\nThe former England captain made a series of heartbreaking admissions as he opened up on his health<\/p>\n
Vickery opened up about his diagnosis of probable CTE(Image: X \/ The Observer)<\/p>\n
Former England rugby captain Phil Vickery has admitted he has considered taking his own life in a devastating new interview.<\/p>\n
The 73-cap international – who also toured twice with the British & Irish Lions in 2001 and 2009 – was diagnosed with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) two years ago. The disease, which can only be officially confirmed after death, is caused by repeated head injuries and kills brain cells, shrinks brain tissues and leads to symptoms including severe memory loss and drastic mood swings.<\/p>\n
A host of top rugby players have received the same diagnosis in recent years, including Wales internationals Alix Popham and Ryan Jones. More than 1,000 players, including Vickery, are part of a concussion lawsuit against governing bodies including World Rugby, the RFU and the Welsh Rugby Union, with those bodies accused of failing in their duty of care to protect players during their careers.<\/p>\n
JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n Vickery has now opened up about his diagnosis and the impact that brain injuries have had on his life in a heartbreaking new interview with The Observer.<\/p>\n During the interview, he pledged to donate his brain for research into neurodegenerative diseases and admitted he has considered taking his own life as he asked ‘what does it have to take’ for more action to be taken.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat am I gonna have to do?,” said the 50-year-old. “Jump off f***ing Clifton Suspension Bridge? With a little note put on my neck, \u2018Please use my f***ng brain\u2019.<\/p>\n “Actually, I won\u2019t jump off there in case I ruin anything. I\u2019ll find out how to f***ing kill myself so you can use my brain to prove [CTE]. And I tell you what, let\u2019s have a live autopsy with the top f***ing autopsy person in the world doing it for proof.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that gonna make someone stand up? I don\u2019t know,” he added. “What a horrible thing to say. But what does it have to take?\u201d<\/p>\n Vickery also revealed the various mental blocks that he now experiences, with the former England star left in tears at the side of the road after being asked to deliver some food to his partner’s grandmother – a six-mile trip he made “20 times” – and forgetting how to get there.<\/p>\n Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018This is not f***ing beating me,” he recalled asking himself at the time. “What the f***ing hell are you doing, Phil? What is going on? What is going on? And I did get there, in the end. It\u2019s just stupid things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cWith the knowledge that we have now, it makes you wanna cry. Because it\u2019s f***ing awful.<\/p>\n “Brain injuries are with you all the time, 24\/7, 365 days a year, and it weighs heavy, and it grinds at you all the time. It won\u2019t beat me. You know, I keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n Vickery opened up about his diagnosis of probable CTE(Image: X \/ The Observer)<\/p>\n However, despite everything that he now faces due to his rugby career, Vickery admits that he would “do it all again”, as he called for more focus on helping sufferers than blaming those running the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sport\u2019s f***ng amazing,” he said. “Rugby\u2019s an amazing sport. You know, the sad reality is I sit here today \u2013 would I do it all again? Oh my God, I would. I\u2019m f***ing mental, but I would because it\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n \u201cI also sit here knowing there are lots of people out there, I believe, who are suffering because of the sport. And it\u2019s not about blaming the sport and about getting all nasty and horrible. Let\u2019s just f***ng help people. There are people suffering, so let\u2019s help them.\u201d<\/p>\n Vickery’s heartbreaking admission left viewers upset, with one writing: “Wow – very raw. Thoughts with all the players who are dealing with brain injuries as a result of playing a game they love.”<\/p>\n Another tearfully added: “Goodness me. I hope he\u2019s getting some psychological support,” while a third wrote: “How desperately, desperately sad.”<\/p>\n Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The former England captain made a series of heartbreaking admissions as he opened up on his health Vickery…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":725057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[3481,7166,5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-725056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-british-and-irish-lions","tag-england-rugby-union-team","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=725056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/725057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0_Screenshot-2026-08-02-121617.jpg\")
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